Storm sat cross-legged on the head of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, his robes rustling in the fierce winds of the open sky. His gaze turned backward, looking at the vast expanse of blue sea beneath him. There, the eerie silhouette of Impel Down was rapidly shrinking into the distance, becoming nothing more than a small black dot on the horizon.
Only when the ominous prison completely disappeared from sight did Storm finally shift his attention forward, withdrawing his gaze with a reluctant sigh.
He had spent considerable time inside Impel Down, tirelessly hunting the monsters lurking within the prison. His strength had far surpassed even those of Head Jailer Shiryu. And yet, despite his many accomplishments, he couldn't deny a lingering sense of regret as he left.
"A hunting ground like that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world..."
Storm chuckled to himself before shaking off the thought. There was no use in dwelling on what was now behind him.
Instead, he turned his focus to the trophies—his greatest spoils from this entire Trophy Hunting Plan.
With a mere thought, Storm summoned his trophies, and one after another, they materialized before him. The shimmering rewards lined up in the air, neatly arranged in a dazzling display of power and accomplishment.
At the center of his attention was the most valuable among them—a six-star death trophy.
[Diamond Trophy: Catarina Devon]
Alongside it stood another high-tier reward—a five-star death trophy.
[Platinum Trophy: Byrnndi World]
Storm studied these trophies with satisfaction. Both Catarina Devon and Byrnndi World were formidable criminals that he had personally eliminated. Their demise not only contributed to his collection of trophies, but they also provided something equally valuable—Devil Fruits.
With a flick of his hand, the pristine white dragon scales of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon shifted, parting like waves to reveal three Devil Fruits of different shapes and colors.
[Zoan: Chameleon Fruit]
[Mythical Zoan: Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit]
[Paramecia: More-More Fruit]
Storm barely spared a glance at the Chameleon Fruit before dismissing it outright.
"This thing is trash," he muttered.
It was nothing more than an ordinary Zoan-type Devil Fruit, and even among Zoans, it was utterly unimpressive. He wasn't even interested in considering what to do with it. His focus remained on the real prizes—the Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit and the More-More Fruit.
"One is a Mythical Zoan, an extremely rare and powerful fruit that offers incredible enhancements... The other is a Paramecia, with its absurdly overpowered ability."
Storm's fingers absently tapped against the Devil Ring on his hand.
"If Admiral Kuzan had offered me one of these two back then instead of the Clay-Clay Fruit…"
He let out a small sigh but quickly pushed the thought aside. There was no point in looking back now. The Clay-Clay Fruit had served him well—exceedingly well.
With his primary trophies accounted for, Storm turned his attention to the rest.
Aside from Catarina Devon and Byrnndi World, numerous other criminals had perished in Infinite Hell, their lives claimed by the sheer destructive force of the Clay Dragon Bullet. Their deaths had also resulted in the appearance of additional trophies, though none had reached the level of a Diamond Trophy.
"The explosive power of the Clay Dragon Bullet isn't quite enough to take down the strongest opponents…"
Even so, Storm had managed to secure two additional five-star trophies from the chaos.
[Platinum Trophy: Percy]
[Platinum Trophy: Brad Grace]
The names struck a chord in Storm's memory.
Before he infiltrated Infinite Hell, he had thoroughly investigated the list of prisoners confined within it.
He recalled that both Percy and Brad Grace were notorious pirates with bounties exceeding 500 million berries.
Percy, also known as "Sly" Percy, was a user of the Teleport-Teleport Fruit, and his bounty exceeded 800 million berries.
Brad Grace, nicknamed "Gray Cat," wielded the Launch-Launch Fruit, and his bounty stood at 600 million berries.
[T/N: These two pirates are non-canon.]
To be fair, there were few weaklings among pirates with bounties above 500 million berries. Both of these criminals had once been dangerous figures before their imprisonment, and they had also possessed Devil Fruits that were far from ordinary.
Paramecia: Apport-Apport Fruit, the user of this fruit can teleport any object they touch to a designated location at will.
Paramecia: Artillery-Artillery Fruit, the user of this fruit can create firearms and cannons out of thin air and fire an unlimited barrage of attacks.
[T/N: These two devil fruits are also non-canon.]
"Hmm…" Storm tapped his chin.
"These two abilities aren't bad, but they aren't particularly impressive either. They're just… average."
Back when he had been reviewing Infinite Hell's prisoner list, he had been searching for criminals who might possess powerful, yet unknown Devil Fruits.
But after careful examination, he had come to a simple conclusion—Catarina Devon and her group were the strongest among them.
Whether it was in terms of individual combat strength or the sheer potential of their Devil Fruit abilities, no one else in Infinite Hell truly stood out.
Of course, there were other formidable figures imprisoned there—such as Douglas Bullet and Patrick Redfield.
However, neither of them was useful to Storm.
Douglas Bullet wielded the Clank-Clank Fruit, a Paramecia ability that allowed him to fuse with objects and drastically enhance his strength.
The Red Count was powerful but had never possessed a Devil Fruit ability.
[T/N: At this point in time, Patrick Redfield has not yet consumed a devil fruit.]
Storm had no interest in either of them.
As for Percy and Brad Grace, he had considered targeting them for their Devil Fruits, but there simply hadn't been enough time. Besides, compared to the More-More Fruit, their abilities paled in comparison.
"I didn't expect to see their names among my death trophies anyway," he mused.
In total, he had secured three five-star trophies:
[Byrnndi World]
[Percy]
[Brad Grace]
But that wasn't all.
He had also collected a staggering number of regular five-star trophies.
Storm did a quick count—there were twenty-three in total!
Adding them all together, he now had twenty-six platinum trophies at his disposal.
"What a nice loot!" he muttered with a smirk.
And as for the four-star trophies?
The sheer devastation caused by his Clay Dragon Bullet had wiped out countless criminals with bounties above 100 million berries.
Storm took a cursory glance.
There were so many gold trophies that counting them all seemed impossible. These trophies were almost entirely death trophies, a clear sign that the prisoners with bounties exceeding 100 million berries in Infinite Hell had been completely wiped out by Storm.
'Cleaning up those trash is everyone's responsibility.'
Storm wasn't interested in the gold trophies. At this stage, four-star trophies held little value to him. Only the five-star platinum trophies could enhance his abilities. As for the six-star diamond trophies, those were crucial for raising his power limit.
His gaze swept past the countless gold trophies and twenty-six platinum trophies, finally settling on the diamond trophies.
Aside from Catarina Devon, two other powerful criminals had been caught in the blast of the "Clay Dragon Bomb."
Both were names Storm recognized well—
[Diamond Trophy: Vasco Shot]
[Diamond Trophy: Sanjuan Wolf]
These two six-star trophies were standard diamond trophies, not death trophies, meaning Vasco Shot and Sanjuan Wolf had not been killed by the explosion—merely knocked unconscious.
"Three Diamond Trophies."
"Twenty-six Platinum Trophies."
"And an uncountable number of Gold Trophies."
"This is the true harvest I got from the 'Infinite Hell Hunting Plan.' "
As Storm pondered his gains, all the trophies vanished into the system, except for one—
The [Catarina Devon] Blood Diamond Trophy.
Storm had once considered using a diamond trophy in the System Forge, hoping to obtain a second [Devil Ring] through the six-star trophy. However, at that time, he had only one diamond trophy, and the risk of wasting it was too high.
Ultimately, he used that six-star trophy to increase his strength attribute.
But even then—
Storm had already anticipated this moment.
Under normal circumstances, a diamond trophy could be used for either "manifesting a desire via the System Forge" or "enhancing attributes"—never both.
However, the Blood Diamond Trophy was different.
This trophy can do both, allowing Storm to use the system forge and increase attributes simultaneously.
Taking a deep breath, Storm activated the attribute enhancement ability of the Blood Diamond Trophy and directed it toward his Clay-Clay Fruit.
A surge of energy enveloped him—
[Clay-Clay Fruit: ★★★★★★★]
His Clay-Clay Fruit had officially reached seven stars!
For the first time, among all his abilities and attributes, one had reached the seven-star level.
Sensing this evolution, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out a joyful dragon roar, its majestic wings slicing through the air.
With the enhancement complete, Storm turned his gaze back to the Blood Diamond Trophy.
At that moment, the crimson glow surrounding the trophy began to fade, leaving behind a standard diamond trophy floating quietly.
Storm's eyes locked onto the diamond trophy.
"Lady Luck is smiling on me today."
Without hesitation, he activated the System Forge.
A burst of brilliant light erupted from the diamond trophy. The crystal-clear trophy shimmered, transforming before his eyes—
By the time the light receded, the trophy was gone, replaced by a silver-gray ring floating in midair.
Storm reached out and grasped it.
A flood of information surged into his mind—
[Name: Devil's Ring (Replica)]
[Star Rating: ★★★★★★]
[Description: An ancient technological creation, a replica modeled after the original Devil's Ring.]
[Effects:
1. Natural Energy: The Devil's Ring can draw energy from its surroundings, supplying power up to the awakening level.
2. Devil's Power – The ring can suppress, absorb, seal, and transfer any Devil Fruit's power, allowing the user to harness its abilities without eating it.]
[Remark: A powerful imitation of the original ring.]
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